Inside St. Denis Medical Filming Locations and Production Secrets of the NBC Comedy
- Dec 26, 2025
- 5 min read
Premiering on NBC on November 12, 2024, St. Denis Medical has quickly carved out a niche as a hilarious yet grounded medical sitcom. Created by the minds behind Superstore and American Auto—Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin—the show adopts a mockumentary style to follow the lives of overworked employees at an underfunded and understaffed hospital. While the series is set in the fictional small town of St. Denis, Oregon, the story of how this world was built involves a fascinating blend of real-world history and ingenious studio engineering. From repurposing sets of canceled dramas to building fully immersive 360-degree environments, the production secrets behind the show are as compelling as the drama unfolding in the emergency department.
From Real Hospital Halls to the Universal Studio Lot
One of the most significant production secrets of St. Denis Medical is the transition from a real-world location to a meticulously crafted studio set. The production team initially filmed the pilot at the unused St. Vincent Hospital in downtown Los Angeles. This location was chosen because it offered two distinct "zones" that set the visual tone for the series: one side featured private patient rooms with rich wood tones, while the other utilized curtained-off bays for a brighter, more frenetic energy.
Once the show moved from pilot to series, the team transitioned to the Universal Studios Lot in the San Fernando Valley. Production designer Elliot LaPlante and her team took the lessons learned from St. Vincent and "repeated what worked and reimagined what didn’t" to create a permanent home for the show on a studio soundstage. This move allowed the production to maintain total control over the environment while keeping the "grounded" feel of a real medical facility.
Designing for Authenticity and Age
To ensure the hospital felt lived-in and realistic, LaPlante chose a signature color palette of blues and greens designed to suggest that some time had passed since the building's last remodel. This choice reflects the show’s premise of an underfunded institution. The production team even balanced the use of older medical equipment with new technology to accurately represent the socioeconomic challenges faced by real-world medical professionals who must deliver excellent care with outdated tools.
The Immersive 360-Degree Set Experience
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the St. Denis Medical set is its 360-degree design. Unlike traditional sitcom sets that have a "fourth wall" for the audience and cameras, the St. Denis set is fully immersive, featuring a full drop ceiling and classic VCT hospital flooring. This means that every corner of the set is "shootable" at any time, allowing the production to use two or three cameras simultaneously to move at a fast pace.
This immersive environment serves a vital creative purpose: it leaves room for improv. Because the actors never know if they are on camera, they are encouraged to never drop character. This setup fosters a level of spontaneity and realism that is essential for the mockumentary format, where the camera acts as a fly-on-the-wall observer of the chaotic hospital life.
The Science of Flattering "Hospital" Lighting
Lighting a hospital set is a delicate balance. Real hospitals are known for harsh, unflattering fluorescent lights, but a television show requires something more aesthetically pleasing. Working with Director of Photography Jay Hunter, LaPlante designed an overhead lighting grid that creates concentric circles of flattering light for the actors. To maintain the hospital aesthetic, they added a "fill light" system using magnet lights on the T-bar of the ceiling. This ensures that while the characters look like overworked medical professionals, they still look good on a high-definition broadcast.
Creative Resourcefulness and Set Scavenging
Building a massive hospital set for a first-season comedy often requires "big dreams" and a "limited budget". To overcome these hurdles, the St. Denis Medical team looked to other productions on the Universal lot. When the show needed a hospital atrium, they brokered a deal to take over part of the set from the recently canceled drama Quantum Leap. By inheriting an underground bunker from that series, LaPlante’s team was able to fast-track the creation of the atrium, saving on disposal costs and construction time.
In addition to the interior sets, the team constructed a permanent facade on the Universal backlot. This included drilling pylons for a cantilevered awning for the ambulance bay and adding a custom St. Denis statue to an adjacent park. This facade was designed not just for the show, but to serve the long-term needs of the Universal Lot, meaning pieces of St. Denis Medical will likely appear in other future productions.
Hidden Character Details and Personal Touches
The set is filled with small, "hidden" details that help the actors inhabit their roles. For example, in the character Joyce’s office, all the plants are fake because she is not someone who wants to worry about keeping something alive; she also keeps a collection of stuffed possums and "critter" friends.
The break room features a framed collection of fly fish hooks labeled "Removed from Patients". This was inspired by a real story from set decorator Casey Hallenbeck, who had a fish hook removed in an ER as a child. These touches create a rich, layered environment that feels like a real workplace with its own history and inside jokes.
The Oregon Inspiration and Filming Timeline
While the St. Denis Medical filming locations are firmly rooted in California, the creative choice to set the show in Oregon was intentional. Showrunner Eric Ledgin explained that Oregon was selected because it is a "beautiful state that you don’t hear a lot about" and feels underrepresented in television.
The production timeline for the first season was quite extensive. The pilot was filmed shortly before the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, and principal photography for the rest of the season began in March 2024. The team spent approximately six months filming, eventually wrapping up Season 1 in September 2024. Throughout this time, the cast—including Wendi McLendon-Covey and David Alan Grier—maintained a lighthearted and fun atmosphere on set, even celebrating Grier’s 68th birthday with a surprise party during production.
🔖 Key Takeaways
🗝️ Location Strategy: The show transitioned from a real hospital (St. Vincent in DTLA) for the pilot to a custom-built, permanent set on the Universal Studios Lot.
🗝️ 360-Degree Set: The set features a 360-degree design with a full ceiling, allowing for constant filming and encouraging actor improv.
🗝️ Set Sustainability: The production saved costs by repurposing the "underground bunker" set from Quantum Leap to create the hospital's atrium.
🗝️ Authentic Details: Designers used specific color palettes and character-driven props (like fake plants and fish hook tallies) to make the fictional Oregon hospital feel grounded and lived-in.
🗝️ Oregon Setting: The showrunners chose Oregon as the setting to highlight an "underrepresented" and "beautiful" state, even though filming remains in Los Angeles County.
🌐 External sources
Keywords: St Denis Medical Filming Location
St Denis Medical Filming Location
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